The synergistic preservative effects of the essential oils of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)against acid-tolerant food microflora 

 -  Letters in Applied MicroBiology, 26(3), p.209-214, 1998 .
<br/><br/> Essential oils extracted by hydrodistillation from five different varieties of Ocimum basilicum L. plants (Anise, Bush, Cinnamon, Dark Opal and a commercial sample of dried basil)were examined for antimicrobial activity against a wide range of foodborne Gram-positive and -negative bacteria, yeasts and moulds by an agar well diffusion method. All five essential oils of basil showed antimicrobial activity against most of the organisms tested with the exception of Flavimonas oryzihabitans and Pseudomonas species. The inhibitory effect of Anise oil, in comparison with mixtures of the predominant components of pure linalool and methyl chavicol, against the acid-tolerant organisms, Lactobacillus curvatus and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was examined in broth by an indirect impedance method. Synergistic effects between Anise oil, low pH (pH 4·2)and salt (5